OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 135, 13 July 1995

SLOVAK NATIONAL PARTY WARNS OF OPPOSITION MOVES. In a statement sent to
TASR on 11 July, the central council of the Slovak National Party (SNS),
a member of the government coalition, warned that the opposition is
planning a comeback for September. According to the SNS, the party has
been informed that foreign financial circles, including "a well-known
American businessman of Hungarian origin," intend to invest millions of
dollars in the Slovak opposition with the aim of destabilizing society.
This money will be used to corrupt parliamentary deputies, with sums of
up to $10 million per deputy, the party said. SNS deputy Vitazoslav
Moric, in an interview with Sme on 13 July, said if eight deputies are
"bought," the opposition will have enough votes to remove the
government. -- Sharon Fisher, OMRI, Inc.

UPDATE ON ROMANIA'S NEW EDUCATION LAW. Cronica romana on 13 July
published an appeal by Gheorghe Funar, chairman of the extremist Party
of Romanian National Unity (PUNR), to President Ion Iliescu over the new
education law. Funar urged that Iliescu reconsider intention to
promulgate the law and his refusal to ask the Constitutional Court to
verify its legality. He said the president, the government and the
parliament have been "blackmailed" into passing the law, claiming that
it paves the way for the Hungarian minority's territorial autonomy. He
also claimed there is a "secret accord" between the majority party, the
Party of Social Democracy in Romania, and the Hungarian Democratic
Federation of Romania to link the law to the signing of the basic treaty
with Hungary. Cronica romana reports that the PUNR's Permanent Bureau
has distanced itself from Funar's appeal, saying it does not share his
view. -- Michael Shafir, OMRI, Inc.

[As of 12:00 CET]

Compiled by Jan Cleave

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A tovabbterjesztest a New York-i szekhelyu Magyar Emberi Jogok
Alapitvany tamogatja.

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Reposting is supported by Hungarian Human Rights Foundation News
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Thursday, 13 July 1995
Volume 2, Issue 135


BUSINESS FEATURE
----------------

**HUNGARY'S HIGH COURT INFLUENCES ECONOMIC POLICY**
  By David Fink

  Hungary's Constitutional Court stunned Finance Minster Lajos
  Bokros and many other officials two weeks ago when it
  invalidated key parts of the government's austerity program.
  Prime Minister Gyula Horn said he'll even consult with the
  court before making big economic decisions.  Some critics said
  that gives the court too much power.  CET spoke with
  constitutional expert Andrew Arato about the court's authority
  in economic matters and asked if the austerity measures fall
  within the court's jurisdiction.

  Arato:  It's really their jurisdiction to consider any topic on
  any issue, after all any decision of Parliament could conflict
  with the constitution in theory so it's in their jurisdiction
  to examine anything, including a budget, there's no question
  about that.  I think that Mr. Bokros, may have implied that
  there's somehow a jurisdictional problem but I think that's
  just plain wrong.

  CET:  Do you think it's unusual for a constitutional court to
  deal with economic questions?

  Arato:  In a certain sense most of the questions that matter in
  a political system have something to do with economics.  But
  for a  consitutional court to basically reject parts of a
  fiscal and monetary package from the point of view of the
  defense of social rights is extremely unusual.

  CET:  Can you think of other examples where this has happened?

  Arato:  The German Constitutional Court as far as I know
  occasionally enters into these matters but in a very limiting
  and self controlled way.  Most European courts take the
  attitude, and I think rightly, that when the question is the
  overall resources of government which they cannot dispose
  over.  The government has to have a great deal of latitude in
  making policy.

  CET:  Mr. Horn said earlier this week he would consult with the
  Constitutional Court in the future before making economic
  decisions.  Do you think that's normal and appropriate?

  Arato:  It isn't really normal.  The Hungarian court has
  extremely wide prerogatives.  I think on a formal level almost
  no court in the world matches it.  One of them is prior
  normative review.  Which in Hungary can imply that before
  legislation is even completed or perhaps before its even
  debated in Parliament the court would be consulted.

  CET:  Do you think the court's decision was a mistake?

  Arato:  I think the court has come to see itself, or part of
  the court, as a defender of autonomous society in the face of
  a state that's somehow a reincarnation or partial
  reincarnation of the old regime in Hungary.  In any case, it
  is a position that if the court continues to be guided by it
  will lead to increasing conflicts and possibly even a
  constitutional crises.


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A tovabbterjesztest a New York-i szekhelyu Magyar Emberi Jogok
Alapitvany tamogatja.

           [*]   [*]  [*]   [*]  [*][*]    [*][*][*]
           [*]   [*]  [*]   [*]  [*]  [*]  [*]
           [*][*][*]  [*][*][*]  [*][*]    [*][*] 
           [*]   [*]  [*]   [*]  [*]  [*]  [*]    
           [*]   [*]  [*]   [*]  [*]   [*] [*]

Reposting is supported by Hungarian Human Rights Foundation News
and Information Service.
*****************************************************************